In the past several years, the cybersecurity arena has been moving in the wrong direction, to say the least, and it does not really seem as though the story will change any time soon. Healthcare providers, retailers, payment processors, banks and government agencies have been frequently targeted by hackers of late, while insider threats and employee negligence have actually moved into the lead for the most common causes of data breach, and consumers are suffering as a result.

Identity theft has been the most economically damaging crime in the United States for years now, and this is largely the result of an increased prevalence of major data breaches that dump significant volumes of sensitive information onto the dark Web. Leaders in virtually every corner of the public and private sectors should seriously consider adopting more progressive defensive solutions, including secure cloud and email encryption services from a trusted provider.

Case in point
Regulators and law enforcement officials have begun to bring the hammer down on entities that do not do everything in their power to maintain security and compliance every step of the way, and one investigation turned up poor results this past week. California Healthline recently reported that state officials conducted an analysis of databases specifically used for patient information, and found that the vast majority of municipal departments were noncompliant with security standards.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, as well as the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, hold all entities that handle medical information responsible for protecting that data at all times. When public-sector firms are struggling to keep themselves in compliance with the law, it is yet another sign of the shoddy state of affairs the medical sector finds itself in today.

According to California Healthline, one study found that 37 of 41 departments investigated in a more thorough portion of the research not only did not meet the standards for which they are responsible, but reported to the state that they were indeed aligned with statutes. All in all, 73 of the total 77 departments across California were found to have mild to extreme issues in their compliance programs.

Getting assistance
Big Market Research recently released the results of its latest study on the managed security services industry, and found that these firms are experiencing healthy growth in demand and revenues as the years pass on. Considering the fact that a managed service provider can quickly help to improve the security and compliance of any firm, it only makes sense that more firms are taking this approach to fortifying their systems.
According to the analysts, the market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 16 percent between 2014 and 2020, while the increasing complexity and threat level found within the average IT departments appear to be pushing leaders in this direction. By partnering with a trusted security services provider, organizations can begin to reduce their risk of experiencing a major breach.